TACOMA—South Kitsap High School’s pursuit of Kitsap County’s first state wrestling championship looked to be golden before the Wolves reached the finish line Saturday evening at the Tacoma Dome.

The Wolves owned a sizable advantage in the Class 4A tournament heading into the championship portion of Mat Classic XXX, which concluded after press time. Entering the championship matches, South Kitsap had 152 points. Second-place Mead had 102.5 points.

Regardless of how the Wolves fared in the finals, a team title will be coming home to Port Orchard.

“That was our whole goal this season, the state title,” South Kitsap senior Izaiah Davis said.

Heading into Mat Classic, South Kitsap coach Chad Nass figured his team would need to score at least 120 points to take home a title. The Wolves blew past that total before Saturday's placing round finished.

Eight of the nine South Kitsap who made state placed in the top four. Making the finals on Saturday night were freshman 106-pounder Xavier Eaglin, senior 160-pounder Nathan Marin, senior 170-pounder Mason Eaglin and Davis, a senior at 195 pounds.

South Kitsap freshman Xavier Eaglin and the Wolves won 29 of their first 36 matches at Mat Classic.(Photo: Jeff Graham / Kitsap Sun)

Heading into the championship round, South Kitsap had won 29 of 36 matches. The Wolves won 10 of 12 consolation-round matches over the two days, the sign of a focused, hungry team.

“Coach says, ‘We’ve got to beat the unbeatable,” said Davis, who dealt with a shoulder injury during the regular season and found himself in and out of the lineup. “We’ve got to beat people we’re not supposed to beat.”

Joining South Kitsap's four wrestlers in the championship round were North Kitsap sophomore Holly Beaudoin and Olympic senior Alec Acfalle.

North Kitsap sophomore Holly Beaudoin reached the state finals at Mat Classic for a second consecutive season.(Photo: Jeff Graham / Kitsap Sun)

Beaudoin is looking to secure her first state title after placing second last year. She was scheduled to face Zillah's Olyvia Smith in the 110-pound finals in the girls tournament.

After winning a regional title, Acfalle said he'd like to take on Orting's three-time state champion Alex Cruz in the 2A finals at 138. He got his wish after edging Cheney's Zack Nguyen 7-6 in the semifinals.

In one of the strangest finishes of the day, Nguyen led Acfalle 6-3 with 30 seconds left before being penalized for stalling three times. The third time cost Nguyen two points and occurred with less than second remaining.

Cheney coaches tried protesting that the final stall call happened after the final whistle, but to no avail.

"We'll take it," said Olympic coach Troy Reynolds, who saw senior 160-pounder Kyle Ignacio place third and senior 106-pounder Quincy Young take eighth.

In total, 23 Kitsap-area wrestlers placed in the top eight at Mat Classic.

In 2A, Bremerton's Estan Wakanabo and Ryan Saylor each finished eighth. Wakanabo proved to be the Knights' most consistent wrestler this winter, while Saylor returned from a concussion that sidelined him for three weeks during the regular season.

North Kitsap had a trio of placers in 2A. Sophomore Nouh Hammou and senior Zach Streun placed fifth, and freshman Robert Gomez took eighth.

Klahowya's Karsten Jensen was the lone Eagle to place in the 1A tournament. Jensen finished fifth at 145 pounds.

In the girls tournament, Bremerton junior Haley Michaelson claimed third place at 125 pounds. Michaelson improved on a pair of fourth-place finishes the previous two seasons. Teammate Cy'nari Green placed eighth, along with North Kitsap's Angel Collins (115) and Elise Scrafford (130).